Public Transit and Its Influence on the Canadian Economy: An Analysis

This report examines the significant role of public transit in the Canadian economy. It begins with a literature review, highlighting how public transit has addressed productivity gaps, reduced congestion, and increased disposable income. The report then delves into a market analysis of the public transit industry, discussing market structures, price and income elasticity of demand, and the competitive landscape. It explores factors influencing demand growth, the potential for workforce training to improve productivity, and the role of technology and innovation. The report also assesses profitability, sustainability, and strategies for growth within the industry. Finally, the report investigates the relationship between transportation and economic growth, offering a comprehensive overview of public transit's impact on the Canadian economy.

Running Head: PUBLIC TRANSIT AND ECONOMY IN CANADA 1
How Public Transit Affected the Canadian Economy
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How Public Transit Affected the Canadian Economy
The role of Public transit in the economy of Canada has been argued for a long time.
However, most of the studies have come to a convergence point of agreement that public transit
plays a major role in Canada’s economy.
Public transit closed the productivity gap in the economy of Canada
Abreu (2018) outlined that public transit is the central component of the economy of
Canada. According to his study, he argued that public transit closed the productivity gap of the
country which existed some decades ago. Moving forward, Abreu mentioned that investment on
public transit has reduced the amount of public money which was being spent on most sectors of
the country’s economy such as healthcare and other municipal services like water and sanitation.
For an average Canadian, Abreu argued that it led to a lowering of taxes, more job opportunities
and high quality of life (Abreu, 2018).
Public transport reduced wastage of economic resources
On a different approach, Yurtoğlu (2018) analyzed the importance of public transit from
a road congestion point of view. According to Yurtoğlu before the current public transit systems,
there was a lot of congestion in the roads which worked on the negative side of the economy. He
supported his argument with some statistics from OECD. According to an economic review by
OECD, traffic congestion in Toronto was costing the economy of Canada around $3.3bn per year
(Yurtoğlu, 2018). According to his findings, investment on public transit is one of the broader
strategies which improved the country’s productivity by addressing the economically damaging
and wasteful impacts of congestion and also creating urban environments which supported the

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changing economies of major cities. According to Yurtoğlu, public transit has created walkable,
safe and thriving urban environments which have turned Canada’s economy into a very
competitive economy. in addition to the indirect impacts of public transit in the Canadian
economy, other direct impacts of the sector include the creation of employment opportunities and
income.
Public transit increased the disposable income in Canadian economy
According to Dubé, Des Rosiers, Thériault & Dib, 2011, public transit has reduced the
income spent by the household on transportation and hence increased the disposable
income. According to their research, investment in public transit had more substantial benefits
from others, which were indirect but with a wide range of impacts on the Canadian
economy. They set it clear that public transit had made the economy to run more efficiently by
reducing wastage of resources and hence improved the living standards in the country as a whole
(Dubé, Des Rosiers, Thériault & Dib, 2011). According to their findings, efficiency had been
achieved through reduced operating costs of vehicles, reduced transit accidents which were
costing the country more than 2.4bn annually, saving the healthcare system by almost $115m
annually, creation of more employment opportunities to the growing population and lastly by
opening the interior parts of the country to facilitate more trade.
Conclusion
In summary, it has come out clearly that public transit played an important role in the
growth of Canada’s economy. As the first study by Abreu outlined, public transit was the central
component of the Canadian economy because it closed the productivity gap of the country which
existed some decades ago. In addition, public transit reduced the amount of public money spent

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other sectors of the country’s economy such as healthcare and other municipal services like
water and sanitation. In regard to the second study, Yurtoğlu has shown that public transit is one
of the broader strategies which improved the country’s productivity by addressing the
economically damaging and wasteful impacts of congestion. Finally, Dubé, Des Rosiers,
Thériault & Dib indicated that public transit reduced the income spent by the household on
transportation and hence increased the disposable income.
References
Abreu, F. D. (n.d.). Multiplexação Óptica No Domínio Do Tempo Em Sistema Stm-16, Stm-64,
Stm-256. doi:10.17771/pucrio.acad.2361
Dubé, J., Des Rosiers, F., Thériault, M., & Dib, P. (2011). Economic impact of a supply change
in mass transit in urban areas: a Canadian example. Transportation Research Part A:
Policy and Practice, 45(1), 46-62.
Kohn, H. M. (2000). Factors affecting urban transit ridership(No. 53F0003-XIE). Statistics
Canada. Transportation Division.
Yurtoğlu, N. (2018). Http://www.historystudies.net/dergi//birinci-dunya-savasinda-bir-asayis-
sorunu-sebinkarahisar-ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.pdf. History Studies International
Journal of History,10(7), 241-264. doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658
Yurtoğlu, N. (2018). Http://www.historystudies.net/dergi//birinci-dunya-savasinda-bir-asayis-
sorunu-sebinkarahisar-ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.pdf. History Studies International
Journal of History,10(7), 241-264. doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658

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